The American Civil Liberties Union and the Pelican Institute are continuing their joint forums around Louisiana urging reform of the state's sentencing structure. Here's hoping the forums are packed and lawmakers have the guts to do something positive about the issue in the next session.

This policy is a failure on multiple fronts beyond the public purse. It's produced no appreciable drop in violent crime, as anyone living in the New Orleans area can attest, and it warps - sometimes permanently - lives that could be more fulfilling for the person and society.

It is important to realize no one is talking here about killers and rapists, or about someone pulled over on the interstate with a trunk full of speed and an AK-47. It is a lie to say this reform agenda is somehow soft on crime.

Unfortunately, Pelican Institute President Kevin Kane acknowledged, Louisiana is battling some bad history and some political elephants. The two are inclusive.

The problem hasn't abated, though, and there are hints of change. Gov. Jindal has sent representatives to the forums Kane and state ACLU Director Marjorie Esman are hosting. The administration has reportedly been supportive of Judge Fredericka Wicker, who heads the Louisiana Sentencing Commission.

In other words, Jindal is well aware of the architectural flaws that are hurting people and Louisiana when it comes to mandatory sentences and incarceration for nonviolent offenders. Hopefully he will be an eloquent and persistent voice on this topic during the next session.

Farther down the political chain, Esman and Kane have attracted lawmakers of all stripes to the cause. At the most recent Lafayette forum, for example, state Sen. Fred Mills (R-St. Martinville) and Rep. Terry Landry (D-New Iberia) participated.

As the partisan affiliations there suggest, good ideas should be impervious to a letter after a name.

Kane and Esman sense some momentum because attendance at the forums - more are in the planning stages for Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe - has grown. Lafayette drew more than 100 people, and one at St. Peter Claver in New Orleans also drew a large crowd.

The Q&A's that follow the forums invariably delve into larger social issues surrounding criminal justice, Kane said. These are real. Change is badly needed there, too, but that's unlikely to come quickly or through legislative action.

So what can be done now?

One option is expanding the circumstances in which judges can step outside mandatory sentencing boundaries, Kane said. More flexibility at that stage would help reduce the flow of people to places where beds should be reserved for violent sorts, and channel some offenders into programs that may better curb recidivism.

The business community also needs to get behind the effort. In Texas, where the state has had great success in reducing its prison population and its costs, the support of the business community was crucial, according to Kane. Indeed, some business groups even made a candidate's stance on sentencing reform a specific item upon which endorsements were based.

With the backing of business, the Texas Legislature was able to pass laws that made it easier for some former prisoners to get hired - by protecting them from liability in relation to such hires, for instance. This cuts to the heart of the problems associated with the re-entry to society of former prisoners, and it has produced demonstrable reductions in recidivism rates.

These are all sensible steps the Louisiana Legislature and governor could take swiftly. Most likely, they would pay dividends quickly, too.

Nevertheless, Kane cautioned against undue optimism. The political clout of sheriffs and the prison industry is considerable. Bedrock, fundamental reform may not be possible until that hurdle is cleared.

"One of the things we ought to look at, and I don't know if it's realistic for this session or not, but definitely at some point we need to revisit the way we fund; you know this whole thing with the local sheriff's getting per diem money," Kane said. "Nobody else does that. We need to look at a more constructive way of funding or some way to change that arrangement."

But this should be remembered: Long-term problems shouldn't block immediate improvements. Let's hope there are enough folks in Baton Rouge with the brains and the spine to act accordingly.